“The metal is responding to the typical demand drivers that I always discuss, like geopolitical uncertainty, a weak dollar, low interest rates,” said Holmes. “Perhaps one of the most shocking things is that last week, for the first time since the November [U.S. presidential] election, gold was outperforming the U.S. dollar,” he said.

“The weakening of the U.S. dollar [as President Donald] Trump’s policy agenda continues to get derailed by all kinds of distractions” has been one of the biggest influences on the gold market, said Holmes.

“Geopolitical risk and uncertainty, from Brexit to Trump’s policies to unrest in the Middle East,” have turbo-charged gold.

“Right now, with rates still historically low and inflation in the 2% range, government bond yields are low to negative, in some cases,” he said. “Why would investors want to lock in negative yields for the next two to five years?” he said.

“In light of this, I think haven investors see gold as a much more reliable store of value,” he said.

“Currently gold only represents 2% of China’s foreign reserves. Compare that to the U.S. where gold represents 75%,” he said. That means “there is still an enormous opportunity for China to continue to accumulate the yellow metal.”